DEFEND BUS SERVICES!

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: july/august 2010 :: RMTnews 8 RMT has pledged to campaign to work with passenger groups, local communities and pensioners organisations to defend bus services. The pledge following warnings from the Campaign for Better Transport that fares could face increases of up to 10 per cent alongside “Beeching-style” cuts to services in many parts of the country. As part of the spending review, there is a danger that government support for bus services could be scrapped. The government support under threat is Bus Service Operators Grant (BSOG), which takes the form of a rebate to operators on fuel duty. This partial tax rebate, which has been in place for over 40 years, supports local bus services across the country. It’s the only direct national funding that bus services get. The government’s own assessment of the impact of BSOG is that on average bus use is 6.7 per cent higher, fares are 6.5 per cent lower and services are 7.1 per cent higher outside London than if the funding were completely withdrawn – but these are national averages and a conservative estimate. The reality is that bus operating costs would rise by around 10 per cent, fares would go up 10 per cent, and bus services would be cut by 10 per cent. As a result, buses would carry 10 per cent fewer passengers for the same level of costs (excluding BSOG) and the same level of revenue as now. Buses in all areas will be hit with rural and suburban areas and services at weekends and evenings suffering the biggest cuts or fare rises. The operators themselves could not absorb the loss of this funding. Bus driver and manufacturing jobs would be hit, investment in services cut and small operators in particular driven out of bus operations altogether. EARLY DAY MOTION 402 MPs have been signing Early Day Motion 402, which highlights the risks of scrapping BSOG and calls for this crucial public support to be retained. RMT general secretary Bob Crow said that there was no doubt that bus services, particularly in rural areas, are right in the front line when it come to transport cuts. “It looks like the ConDems are going to give the private bus operators, who have milked fat returns out of their services for years, the opportunity to dump what they consider to be unprofitable services cutting off hundreds of thousands of people from their transport life- line. “Thousands of jobs will also be under threat. “Buses should be run as public services and if the cuts are not stopped many elderly people and those without cars will be isolated while the private bus companies cherry pick the lucrative routes in a return to the short-term vandalism of Beeching,” he said. He said that the bus companies were also lobbying hard to have free pensioner travel restricted and they may now seize the opportunity of the government’s cuts agenda to turn the screw. The private bus operators have lobbied hard for the scheme to be restricted and in a recent interview, the work and pension’s secretary Iain Duncan Smith has indicated that pensioner benefits could be threatened. “We can promise them they will have one almighty battle on their hands as the unions link up with pensioners’ organisations and community groups to fight these cuts,” Bob Crow said. Other supporters of the campaign include Campaign for Better Transport, the group of six Integrated Transport Authorities, the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK, Friends of the Earth, Campaign to Protect Rural England, UNITE, Community Transport Association, Guide Dogs, Greenpeace UK, UNISON and Bus Users UK. DEFEND BUS SERVICES! RMT backs campaign against Beeching-style bus cuts and warns that pensioners’ Freedom Passes could be next target for ConDem cuts BUS CUTS: Bus passengers, many of whom are on low incomes, pay more fuel tax than wealthier air and rail passengers. While buses still pay a significant amount of fuel tax, aviation pays none. BSOG is equivalent to a £437 million a year investment in buses. In contrast, aviation gets a £6.5 billion a year tax break by paying no fuel duty (Source: Green Alliance, June 2009). Copyright © Jess Hurd/reportdigital.co.uk EDM 402 BUS SERVICES OPERATOR GRANT That this House recognises the importance of local bus services in tackling congestion in urban areas, in contributing to carbon reduction and in providing a lifeline service in rural areas and for households without access to a car; notes that the Government's own calculations suggest that if Government BSOG (Bus Services Operator Grant) support for bus services were to be withdrawn, substantial fare increases, service reductions and job losses would follow; and calls on the Government to continue to support bus services by retaining BSOG. Angela Smith MP